Adipose tissue was obtained by needle biopsy from cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and controls. Adipocytes were incubated in Krebs-Ringer Buffer with 2% bovine serum albumin and 5 nM glucose for 2 hrs. The effects of Isoproterenol, Theophilline, and Dibutyryl cyclic AMP on hormone sensitive lipase were measured by glycerol release. Basal lypolysis and lipolytic response to Isoproterenol were virtually identical for adipocytes of CF patients and controls. Effects of Theophilline and Dibutyryl cyclic AMP on the cell were also the same in the two groups. No evidence of impaired physiologic response of CF adipocytes to Beta-adrenergic agents was detected in this study.